Why Ricciardo deserves a proper F1 farewell, even if his time is up

OPINION: The undercurrent in the Singapore F1 paddock suggested that the Marina Bay race would be Daniel Ricciardo's last in F1, although RB is yet to officially make a call. And, for someone who raced at the front of F1 for so long, the Australian deserves a far more fitting send-off

"So that's it after 13 years, so long, good luck?"

"I don't recall saying good luck."

A slightly paraphrased line from The Simpsons, where the hapless Kirk Van Houten gets fired from his job at the cracker factory, rather sums up the apathetic approach to Daniel Ricciardo's potential exit from Formula 1. Most people understand that Singapore was his last race for RB before Liam Lawson gets drafted into the line-up for the United States Grand Prix. But the team has kept largely schtum; Laurent Mekies 'strongly hinted' that the perma-grinning Australian might have driven his last - even saying as much in the team's post-race press release.

But if Ricciardo had any clarity on his situation, he did a fine job of pretending he had no clue whether he'd be back after the four-week lay-off. In truth, he probably didn't need to pretend, as it's not like there was any sense of closure in the Singapore aftermath.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.